This invention relates to a switching means for use in motor vehicles and more particularly, to a combination switching means of the lever type having a lever construction of a double shaft, which is capable of actuating three kinds of switching circuit means, i.e., a change-over switching means for direction turn signal blinking or flashing lights, a change-over switching means for selectively converting a beam level of a head-light from an approximately horizontal level to a lower level, and a switching means for actuating the head lamp and other small lamps such as tail lamps and the like.
Up to the present, there have been proposed a number of types of combination switching means of the above-described type, any one of which conventionally enables a driver of the motor vehicle to operate not only the change-over switching means for direction turn signal blinking lights, but also the change-over switching means for selectively converting the beam-level mentioned above (or a switching means to be used to effect a passing-dimmer) through respective pivotal handling operations of the lever, with the lever being, however, somewhat tilted with respect to any one of the predetermined pivotal directions. Such being the case, a knob for enabling the driver to actuate the switching means for the head lamps and the other small lamps such as tail lamps, instrument illuminating lamps is further conventionally mounted on the operating lever. However, as far as the conventional combination switching means of the above-described type is concerned, according to one typical combination, switching means in which the switching means for actuating head lamp and the like (the lighting switching means) is arranged to be accommodated within the knob mounted on the operating lever formed in a single shaft construction, the knob arrangement inevitably becomes rather bulky in size. Futhermore, a resulting from such an arrangement is that the electrically circuitry relating to the lighting switching means has to be laid through the inside of the operational lever. On the other hand, according to another typical conventional combination switching means wherein a bulky knob construction is excluded by providing an operating shaft extended through the inside of the operating lever, the operating lever and the operating shaft thus forming a double shaft construction, and the lighting switching means is arranged to be operable through a twisting pivotal actuation of a knob-portion provided at a top end of the operating lever, although the above-mentioned defects inherent in the first conventional combination switching means mentioned above are substantially excluded, the construction of the operating lever inevitably becomes in turn rather complicated due to the fact that a pivotal displacement to be effected in relation with the tilting pivotal operation of the lever has to be completely prevented from being transmitted to the lighting switching means. The situation is the same ven for a case where the above-mentioned pivotal displacement or frictional drive has to be further completely prevented from being transmitted to the passing dimmer switching means.